The British Institutes Certification Board offers examinations at each of the main levels established in the Council of Europe's Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

The Common European Framework of Reference also foresees the possibility of testing intermediate levels. As a result, British Institutes examination include a supplementary level, B1+, which acts as a 'bridge' between B1 and B2.

The seven levels of British Institutes Certification of languages skills are therefore:

• A1 Breakthrough "English Certificate"
• A2 Waystage "English Certificate"
• B1 Threshold "English Diploma
• B1+ Strong Threshold "English Diploma"
• B2 Vantage "First Examination Master in English Language"
• C1 Effective Operational Proficiency "English Diploma Operational
• C2 Mastery "Master in English Language"

The British Institutes examinations assess the four basic skills through specific subtests: for written comprehension (Reading); written reproduction (Writing); oral comprehension (Listening) and oral reproduction (Oral), as well as a subtest aimed at verifying grammatical and lexical skills (Use of English).

Apart from the marks given for written and oral reproduction, the British Institutes examinations are made up of structured, objective tests that allow a score to be allocated in advance.

Each subtest (Use of English, Reading, Free Writing, Listening and Oral) is allotted 20 marks each and the final result is the sum of all these marks out of 100.

The minimum total score required to pass an examination is 60/100.

In addition to the certificate showing the overall score, candidates are also sent a Notification of Results which indicates the score out of 20 for each single skill.